The Brandon University Bobcats volleyball teams will be teaming up with Christmas Cheer at the home games on December 1st. The Brandon-Westman Samaritan House as well as Christmas Cheer will be on-hand during the game to accept donations of toys, food, and clothing for those who need it.

The Christmas Cheer hampers have grown significantly in the past two years, from roughly 900-950 needed in 2015 to around 1,100 in 2016. These hampers support local families who need some assistance with making their family’s holiday a special one, from food on the table, to new toys for the children, to warm toes and fingers with warm, woolly socks and mittens. Items most requested this year include toys, socks, knitted items, board games, crayons, colouring books, toothbrushes, and toothpaste.

“We are gearing up for that and are prepared to see similar numbers,” said second year Bobcat, Tayler Lane. “We appreciate every business, club or organization that takes on a project like this to help us.”

Samaritan House provides the food hampers that some lower income individuals and families require to make sure they and their families have food on the table. Last year, 19,177 hampers were handed out to those who needed them. In comparison, so far this year around 19,200 hampers have been given out. These hampers contain the basic non-perishable food staples that people require, like canned beans, soups, and infant formula, as well as non-food items, like laundry detergent and diapers.

The Bobcats play against the University of Winnipeg Wesmen on Friday, December 1st, with the women playing at 6:00PM and the men following at 7:45PM. Bring a friend and some donation items, and come support your Bobcats as well as people in need this holiday season. Remember, admission to Bobcats home games is free for students with your BU student ID!